Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 10, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Researchers at Offenburg University of Applied Sciences have developed a system that can bring three-dimensional virtual reality (VR) to mobile devices. The development is driven by the increasing computing power of mobile phones, smartphones and PDAs, as well as growing transmission bandwidth. “That gave us the idea that it might be possible to use this performance to create a three-dimensional virtual reality,” explains Dan Curticapean, professor of media technology in Offenburg. The approach relies on a server preparing the data for the mobile device. A phone could also transmit the 3D images to projection equipment via Bluetooth.
“We have created a system that optimises VR data and transmits it to phones or other mobile devices,” Curticapean says. In the Offenburg approach, servers take on the computing load associated with computer animations and VR simulations. The prepared data is then made available for 3D display on mobile devices either as a stream (AVI, motion JPEG) or as vector data (VRML, X3D). When viewed directly on the screen, 3D glasses with differently coloured lenses or other technologies can be used. The data could also be forwarded via Bluetooth to suitable display systems, such as stereoscopic video projectors.
The approach is intended to enable improved realistic 3D presentations, give users more options for visualising and interacting with 3D objects, and make complex 3D objects easier to display. “Perhaps most important is the prospect of using mobile devices such as phones as a user interface to share more content with more people,” Curticapean says. Given the ubiquity of mobile devices, this could become an important component of mobile learning, particularly in developing regions.
The researchers’ work will be presented under the title “3-D Mobile Virtual Reality Simulations and Animations Using Common Modern Displays” at the Frontiers in Optics conference. The Optical Society of America event takes place from October 19 to 23 in Rochester, New York.
